Legislative AssistantLegal Assistants salary statistic

Legislative Assistant – Salary, Qualifications, and Responsibilities

Individuals who enter the field of legislative assistant generally have further career goals in politics. In this position, they serve as assistants to lawmakers, other public officials, and non-profit organizations and advocacy groups in the following ways:

• Conduct research for drafting new bills or analyzing existing ones
• Help to write, edit, and garner support for bills
• Track legislation as it moves through committees and on to a vote
• Write and give speeches about pending legislation
• Answer questions of the press regarding proposed legislation

This position requires at least a Bachelor’s degree, and a legislative assistant salary is comparable to many other entry level career positions – the median salary today is between $29,000 - $51,000, close to that of a beginning teacher with a Bachelor’s degree. The range is based upon years of experience, degree, and the position level of the job. For example, legislative aides who work for state level legislators will earn salaries on the low end of the range. Aides who work at the national level will command pay toward the higher range.

A legislative assistant position should not be confused with that of a legislative analyst. The latter works primarily in the private sector, and the position involves studying and analyzing legislation that has already been passed by a governmental body. The analysis is conducted in order to determine how that legislation will impact a company or organization.  A legislative analyst salary is significantly more than that of an assistance, the median now being more than $51,000. This is quite a jump, and it is not unusual for legislative assistants to move over into private industry, once they have some experience under their belts.

Legislative Directors

Legislative assistants who have proven themselves may be promoted to the position of legislative director. In this capacity, the individual supervises and delegates tasks to a staff of legislative assistants, provides a final analysis based upon their work, and presents findings to his/her boss – a member of a lawmaking body or a corporate executive. The legislative director salary averages $61,000.

Legislative Correspondent

Another related position is that of legislative correspondent. All members of Congress have at least one but more often several. These individuals are responsible for opening and responding to all mail that congressmen receive from their constituents. It helps to have a Bachelor’s in political science with a minor in English, or vice versa, to be considered for these positions. But the pay is not as equal to that of an assistant or director. The average legislative correspondent salary ranges from $33,000 - $45,000. The legislative corresponder or writer resume has to be really good if you want to get this job.

Legislative Aide

Often a candidate may read a job posting for a legislative aide. This, in effect, is the same position as a legislative assistant with the same general duties. A legislative aide salary will be within the same range as that of a legislative assistant.